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What's the story?
Jeff Hardy's misfortune continued on this week's episode of SmackDown Live, where he found himself the victim to yet another assault.
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He had returned to SmackDown Live, after taking a week away to recover from his last two encounters, but the pattern did not change for him this week either. On top of that, there was added a new spectrum to the dynamic between Hardy, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton.
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Watch Orton explain his actions here:
In case you didn't know...
It all started at Extreme Rules. Jeff Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura had been set to face each other for the United States Title, but before the bout could even begin, Nakamura hit Hardy with a low blow. The referee's back had been turned at that point, and he did not see the illegal move.
The moment he rang the bell, Nakamura took advantage and hit Hardy with the Kinshasa, pinning him immediately afterwards. He was able to win the Title in only five seconds and then went on to celebrate the win.
Nakamura's celebration was interrupted by the returning Randy Orton, who stared down the new United States Champion. However, in an unexpected move, he turned on Jeff and kicked him in the crotch. The very next episode of SmackDown Live saw Orton interrupt Jeff's rematch, and launch another brutal assault on him which shocked the audience to the core.
On last week's SmackDown Live, he explained his action, saying that he intended to end Hardy's career, due to the disrespect Orton was shown by the fans on a regular basis.
The heart of the matter
Jeff Hardy came to the ring on this week's episode of SmackDown to confront Orton for his actions. Orton answered the challenge and walked down to the ring, but before he could attack Hardy, Nakamura attacked Orton from behind. Orton got between Nakamura and Hardy when he was about to hit Jeff with a Kinshasa, but then, smiled and moved out of the way to allow Nakamura to go through with his attack.
The two faced each other again before Shinsuke left the ring, which might possibly be hinting at a feud for the United States Title.
However, Orton was far from done. He continued his assault on Hardy, stomping on each of his limbs are teasing an RKO. He hit him with two hanging DDT's, one inside the ring, and the other on the outside. He laid Hardy up on the commentary table, tearing off Hardy's merchandise one by one.
He tore away his shirt and his necklace as well, before getting a bottle of water and pouring it on Hardy's face. He began to punch him, while also scrubbing away the face-paint from the helpless Jeff. The audience was once again left shocked and silent as they watched the new brutality of Orton's assault.
What's next?
Orton and Nakamura's face-off seemed to hint at a future United States Title Match for Orton. While they seemed to be allies when it came to their hatred for Hardy, Orton is not really a team player in his current persona.
Hardy, Nakamura, and Orton, may find themselves in a Title Match at SummerSlam if the feud were to continue in the way it is. That is if Hardy is able to survive the coming week's brutality that Orton seems prepared to hand out.
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